As she tries to mend the laces of a pink dress, torn by time, she feels as if she hears the sweet voice of Drita Pelinku, as she covered her with a blanket: “My sweet, my little one”! Koralda The priest’s eyes are filled with tears. He has been working at the National Theater for 27 years. There are so many memories, and yet he keeps his passion for work as if it were the first day.

When she passed in front of the National Theater and saw the actors talking passionately about the plays or an event of the day, she said to herself: Oh my God, will I be able to work with these people one day?! She grew up with a love for the theater. Her uncle, Vangjush Furxhi, did not stop talking about the theater and her imagination moved between the stage and the actors’ colorful clothes. She does not hide that it was her uncle, then Deputy Minister of Culture, who spoke to the director of the Theatre, Robert Ndrenika. But even for the friend’s niece, the latter made no concessions: She would be on probation for 6 months, as a wardrobe. It was 1992.

“I remember very well the first show, for which I had to work. It was ‘Rikardi III’, directed by Agim Qirjaqin, a big show with about 50 actors. I was very young and did not know the secrets of work. I had only seen what happened on stage, but not behind the scenes. I was kept very close by the head of Finance, Ludmilla, who taught me the work queue, how it worked when they came and asked for clothes from the wardrobe. But I am also very grateful to Ndrenika for the opportunity he gave me. My future would depend on that 6 months. It was a hectic period, during which I had to show what I could do. I can call it luck, even though with a lot of fatigue, the fact that my colleague took maternity leave, which lasted a full 6 months. The work spoke for itself… That’s how I started working at the National Theatre”, says Koralda Prifti, who today is the most loved person for every actor. After all, their brilliance on stage depends precisely on the hands of Koralda. She is the one who takes care of their clothes, that they are clean, ironed, that not a single button is missing, that they are in the right place, at the right time…

“My work is closely related to costume design. Every time there is a premiere, the costume designer contacts me to find out what the wardrobe has in terms of the clothes he needs. Of course, it depends on the period to which the work belongs, but also the concept of the director and costume designer. He may need capes, top hats, shirts… Earlier, when Agim Zajmi and Shaban Hysa worked in the Theater, the wardrobe was used a lot, but the clothes wear out over time, besides the fact that times have changed and things need to be sewn cloud. Recently, I collaborated with costume designers Berina Kokona and Laedja Hajdari, who create very beautiful costumes, enriching the wardrobe. After the actors’ clothes have been determined, I put them in the dressing rooms. After the shows I take all the clothes and take the ones that need cleaning. A process that I do without distinction for both the main actors and the extras. I want the actors to shine all over, from head to toe, and often they laugh at me because I look like a ‘mother with many children'”, she says with a laugh.

       

Her work has no schedule. On show days, it happens that midnight takes him backstage, organizing and preparing the wardrobe for the next day. She should have everything under control. Perhaps no one knows the importance of her work during the performances, and what tension she carries. She is grateful to the actors for their cooperation, but also to her family, from her parents who nurtured her desire to work, to her husband and daughter, who are supportive and understanding of her long hours at work.

“It is a job that requires speed and attention. It happens that the actors have several costume changes during the show, so you have to be as quick as possible, otherwise he will miss the joke. Before the show starts, I check all the clothes if they have any problems, because I don’t want it to happen, that at the last moment the actor discovers that he has a broken chain or a missing button. But we have also had incidents with the shows. Actor Bes Bitraku’s pants were undone during the show ‘Vanja, Sonja, Masha and others’, I had to grab him with handcuffs. But the next day they were sewn, washed, ironed.”

Koralda never counted on fatigue. It has been a pleasure for him to work among outstanding people, to know them closely, to learn from them, to share moments of joy and sadness, even in very difficult conditions. The old premises of the National Theater did not give her many opportunities to store her clothes as she would like, however she tried to do her best. “the skill is to know how to keep a hut, that the villa, everyone knows”, she says, without hiding her pride for the work done in almost 3 decades.

“I had the good fortune to work with all generations, with Kadri Roshi in “Inspektori”, and Sulejman Pitarka in “Pjata dere duri”, with Drita Pelinku, Margarita Xhepa, Violeta Manushi, to continue with Bujar Lako, Ndriçim Xhepa, Bujar Asqeriun, Yllka Mujon, Luiza Xhuvanin, etc., to reach the students, whom I have helped as much as I could and have also received satisfaction. In the end, what remains is gratitude”, she says.

For 27 years, she has been the guardian of the treasury of the National Theatre. That’s what she calls the wardrobe, where she says clothes are kept since “Cuca e male”. There are so many clothes that seem to hold the souls of the characters who wear them. And she takes care to preserve them, to fight against time. All of them carry stories. But as she says, a little mothballs in the pocket can do wonders, keeping clothes from the 50s and 60s alive.

“We have military clothes, priests’ clothes, fabric clothes, which can be torn by moths. Clothing from when Drita Pelinku was 18 years old, to the most recent shows. There are endless clothes, which today have been packed to be moved from the premises of the old building of the National Theatre. I put them in the box together with the hangers, together with the corresponding labels, so that I can open them according to the performances, wherever they are placed”, she adds, hoping to find the right premises for the historical wardrobe of the National Theatre.